27 July 2017

Lana Del Rey - Lust for Life

That smile
terrifies me, I mean after three albums where Lana Del Rey has looked moody, it
is akin to a small creature that is going to attack you. But that is just
my personal feelings there, so what is this album all? After the
disappointing 'Honeymoon' (our review here) (I know I am the lone wind in the
dark here, but that album was poor compared to 'Ultraviolence' (our review
here)), Ms Del Rey first floated the idea of recording a new album at the end
of 2015, where she stated that she was going in a different direction to
'Honeymoon', but keeping the same aesthetics. Executive produced by Ms
Del Rey and with Rick Nowels, this multi-produced record (I know, I know) was
recorded in seven different locations in the USA and the UK, giving the
impression that album is an international record. The hype and reception
that this album has received is deafening to these ears, so much so and after a
lot of persistence/persuasion I have decided to have a look myself. Will
this be another 'Honeymoon' or another 'Ultraviolence'?

01 – Love

A song about a former lover comes back and becoming your future, ponder the
strange situations that people find themselves in, especially when you have a
feeling that you are not really in love.Musically, it is an empty song with minimal music so you focus on the
vocals, a huge chorus section so you notice the difference and some industrial
noises every now and then.For a pop
song, it has a minimalist industrial section at the core of its soul, it feels
empty and cold with a lack of humanity and compassion seated right in core of
the song.

02 – Lust for Life (Featuring The Weeknd)

Ok, this song is a paradox to me, you have a song about having a good time and
the zeitgeist spirit of the party generation with a carefree attitude, but it
sounds like the mood of the party is taking a downer.The vocals are fine, as is the music itself,
but there is a clash between the words and the music that sounds like a car is
crashing into a wall at one inch per hour.It is decent, but it is not the anthem that people are claiming it to
be.

03 – 13 Beaches

The introduction to this song is provided by a full string section of an
orchestra, some gentle pianos and then it becomes the moody synth pop about
needing to be alone and trying to find a beach that is deserted.Now, this is the first song on the album to
make sense, it is dealing with a depression caused by not having a place to
hide and the need to run away, the music matches the words and it all comes
into sharp focus by the end of the song.It is a beautiful, fragile song that will give people solace that others
feel the same.

04 – Cherry

The world is so dark on this song, I mean this is not a happy place to be
musical or spiritually.Everything is
falling to the ground and nothing is working anymore, it is a dark and hollow
place to be and I am not too sure what to make of this song.It does not explode at any point, it sorts of
simmers along and the ending just sort of dissipates into nothing.It is stylistically competent, but what is it
actually saying or doing?

05 – White Mustang

A song about remembering an old car, a past love and a whole torrent of
emotions.This would be a moody number
if it was only for one thing – it does not have any variation what so
ever.There is no difference between the
chorus, bridge, verse, any of it.It is
over very quickly, which is a good thing.I think what makes this track very frustrating is the fact that the
music is great, but it needed something else to make it special.Alas, it has turned out to be frustrating
experience.

06 – Summer Bummer (Featuring A$AP Rocky & Playboi Carti)

This song is about wanting to stop being a pain in the arse, trying to be cool
about everything, but admitting that underneath it all that there is something
deep and dangerous between them.The
guest performances from A$AP Rocky & Playboi Carti help this song, giving
the song distinct section and it is such an improvement on ‘White Mustang’.There is a
flow to the song, a natural ebb and flow which gives it a complete feeling,
something that can sometimes be missing from this album.

07 – Groupie Love (Featuring A$AP Rocky)

Now this is a much better, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so much better!It is all about a person who is obsessed with
an artist and feeling as if everything that they do is directed at them.This song has everything that you want from a
Lana Del Rey record: A little bit of a story, some interesting music,
innovation and a guest that supports instead of smothering.It is one of the best songs on the album,
because it has a bit of depth behind the music.

08 – In My Feelings

A song which is allegedly about Lana Del Rey’s relationship with rapper G-Eazy,
this song is the sound of a woman scorned who is truly pissed off.It has a harsh feeling to the music, the
lyrics and it vibrates fury – I think that someone crossed a path that they
should have left alone.It is another
song to add to the good pile, but I am not amazed by it.It is just nice to hear more than the absence
of sound that haunted the early part of this album.

09 – Coachella – Woodstock In My Mind

This song is trying to make a statement, with fear at its heart.The song is about Ms Del Rey’s experience
when she was at Coachella and was comparing it to the original Woodstock
festival, but realising that the world she finds herself in is a hell of a lot
different (to be honest, it is not – the USA was in a state of Cold War with
the USSR).It has guilt as she was
dancing whilst the tensions where rising with North Korea, awaking happened and
she wanted to contribute to this situation.It is a messy song in places, the beats and strings clash in an uneasy
way.It has good intentions, but the
overall delivery is sub-par.

10 – God Bless America – And All the Beautiful Women in It

Now this is a song with a message I can get behind (sort of).It is a pro-women song, one which is about
the struggles of women and how they can feel unrepresented politically.But there is a determined spirit behind it,
one which shines through and enlightens the listener.Two things though: One, it did not need the
gunshots in it.Two, it is very home focused
and that might not transcend well outside of the USA, no matter how innocent or
heartfelt it was meant.But it is a good
number, but that gunshots sound in the chorus ruins it a little for me.

11 – When the World Was at War, We Kept Dancing

Keeping the focus on America, this time the fear that everything is falling
apart as it seems that the country is going to hell in a hand basket, Ms Del
Rey is focusing on the scary parts of her country and it terrifies her.It is a dark song, one that demands answers
and has an appeal which is not always there on this album.It goes back to the dark industrial sound,
but with a few more layers to the music, adding a much needed depth to the
sound and it creates a desolate song for the world to ponder what happens when
a super power ends.

12 – Beautiful People Beautiful Problems (Featuring Stevie Nicks)

A song that was put together as producer Rick Nowels went to school with Stevie
Nicks, so he arranged for this to happen as he wanted (and I am quoting here)
to have a collaboration with two of the greatest female poets of song writing.I find understand that this is a big deal,
they are both artists who bring a lot to the table.The song is a refreshing break from the
minimalist breakbeats and industrial sounds of the album, giving a diversity to
the record that has been missing.It is
decent, but it feels as if Ms Del Rey is a second act on her own album with
this number.

13 – Tomorrow Never Comes (Featuring Sean Ono-Lennon)

A song about feeling so low that you cannot help but fall apart, when
everything has disintegrated and you are left in the ruin, surrounded by broken
dreams.It was sent to Sean Lennon (you
know who he is, if not – Wikipedia him, he is a talented artist who just
happens to have famous parents) for vocals, he loved it so much that he re-did
the music, I mean all the music and sent it back.It is a beautiful song, a fragile number that
is head and shoulder above the rest of the record.It is the real deal, everything has a
distinct place and boundary and it melts together to create the best song of
the album.

14 – Heroin

A song about the dangers of Heroin, a song that should act like a dark warning
about this drug that ruins lives.I must
admit, I do hate it when songs use ‘Heroin’
as a title, as rightly or wrongly it adds glamour to this soul destructing drug.We are back in the dark, minimalist
industrial sound that has been the calling card of the album, it matches the
lyrics as the protagonist is growing tired of the hold that it has over them.Not going to lie here, whilst the music
sounds good, I cannot get onboard with this song and it just fills me with an
uncomfortable feeling each time I play it.Hopefully, she has not been using it and is just referring to it in a
story manner, hopefully.

15 – Change

‘Change’ is a song about having that
light bulb moment, when you realise that you want to remove the shot from your
life and get ready to face the world in a positive way.It was one of the last song to be wrote for
the album and it is one of the best statements on the record as well, with its
simple and direct message that is draped over a simple piano based
performance.I love the sound of this
song, it has a finished feeling that makes it stand out from the madden crowd.

16 – Get Free

The end has arrived, the first word of the song is Finally and I can say that it feels like a relief when the guitar
starts to play.The song has an up tempo
beat, a positive message and it acknowledges the fact that Ms Del Rey can be
her own personal rain cloud at times.It
is good to hear that she wants change, that she knows how she can be seen and
how she wants a better mindset for herself.I think that this song is as important as something like ‘When the World Was at War, We Kept Dancing’
as you need the yang to follow the ying.As they said in the film ‘The
Crow’ – it can’t rain all the time.Both ‘Get Free’ and ‘Change’ end this song with a positive
note that shines like twin gems in the night sky.I can see why these two have received so much
praise.

There are a few things that I want to say in my summary here:Firstly, this is a good album, but nothing
more than that (I await your arguments otherwise with suspense and
interest).I have heard this sort of pop
before by bands such as Sleeplust and they nailed it.Ms Del Rey on here seems to leave things
slightly unfinished, with no sense of anticipation or rising the energy or
pitch so there is not much difference between the verse, chorus or
bridges.The music has an industrial
feeling to it in places, a huge dash of modern hip hop, the guests do not
really add too much to the overall ending, they mostly distract your attention
from Ms Del Rey to be honest.Secondly,
if there is an album in 2017 that needs a health warning to only listen to if
you are in a good place, this is it.But
Lana Del Rey has never been known for making positive records, she has always
been known as the dark sirens of the modern age.Thirdly, I have realised once I had stopped
away from the album for a bit, I figured out what had been bugging me about it
(and Lana Del Rey as cultural phenomenon) – she is not a Pop artist.Let me explain, this is not a Pop album,
apart from the fact it is popular.It is
something else, something different and minimal with a hint of hip hop
breakbeats and film noir.So, you cannot
think of her in terms of Pop artists as she is not in that same category,
mainly because she is offering something different to the Knowles’, Swift’s and
Perry’s of the world.However, she is
still not truly an artist in the same sense as Tom Waits, Nina Simone, Nick
Cave, Stevie Nicks, Aretha Franklin, David Bowie and many more.She is heading in that general direction, but
there is a long way to go.This album is
a big improvement on ‘Honeymoon’, but
it does not match the power behind ‘Ultraviolence’.So – to my verdict.I know I am the lone voice in the wind on
this one, but this is not the best pop album of 2017, it is not the best album
of 2017 – it is a good album, but it is not the be-all and end-all that
everyone is hailing it to be.I am not
saying it is awful, it is overlong (seriously, seventeen songs), clever album
with dark pools, but there is nothing in the pools but darkness.When you do not have more than those
minimalist pieces, it sorts of ends up just being a good record. That said, you
are not going to hear a darker pop record this year, but do not let the hype
take away from the fact it is style over content.One day she will make an album that conquers
the world, I am sure of it, but this is not that record.

Welcome to the final round-up review of 2017! Similar to the Round-Up posts I put up earlier in the year, I’m going to be posting some bull...

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Album scoring system

0 - This is proof there is no deity1 - You're really are touching the bottom of the barrel with this one2 - If only there was some quality control3 - It could have been a bit better4 - Well it's alright, but still......5 -Not for everyone but played well6 - Now I see where you were going, but it's not quite there7 - This is good and well worth a check8 - Oh, now you have my attention and maybe my money, time and heart9 - Almost perfect....Almost10 - This is proof there is a deity(For albums that are too crazy to be marked)Crazy Cat symbol - This album cannot be marked, so here is a box of kittens

Singles/EP Marking System

0 - Only to be listened to by people bless with the gift of being deaf1 - Not so much on the bad that it is bottom of the barrel, but it can see the stuff down there2 - Not bad, not good - so average it is Zen3 - Decent, getting there4 - This is really good, well worth checking out5 - I wish I had extra ears to love this more(For Singles/EPs that are too crazy to mark)Crazy Cat symbol - This release cannot be marked, so here is a box of kittens